Read: Genesis 19
The two
angels who visited Abraham with the pre-incarnate Christ in chapter 18 now
arrive in the city of Sodom in the evening (v. 1). Lot is sitting at the gate to the city when
he meets them and offers them refuge in his home (v. 2). They initially declined his offer, but Lot
pressed the matter and they finally accepted (v. 3). Lot then made a feast for them. Before long, the men of the city surrounded
the house and called to Lot, asking about the visitors (v. 4-5). These wicked men wanted to have sex with the
visitors (v. 5). This invitation shows
us the wickedness of the Sodomites.
Later in the Scriptures we read that the sin of homosexuality is
classified with bestiality and incest (Lev. 18:22, 29; 20:13), it is also
condemned in the New Testament (Rom. 1:26-27; 1 Cor. 6:9; 1 Tim. 1:10). God did not consider these to be alternative
lifestyles but sinful lifestyles. Lot
confirms their intentions to have sex with the visiting men as sinful when he
pleads for them not to act so wickedly (v. 7).
Not wanting to violate his responsibility to protect his guest, Lot
offers his own virgin daughters instead (v. 8).
Such an offer is shocking and ungodly!
This got the mob of men angry and they accused Lot of judging them (v.
9), the men started to break down the door when the visitors reached out and
saved Lot (v. 10). The angelic visitors
then struck the angry mob with blindness (v. 11) so they couldn’t barge in the
door. They then commanded Lot to gather
his family and belongings and to get out of the city because they were going to
destroy it, as instructed by God (v. 12-13).
Lot tried to gather his future sons-in-laws but they thought he was
joking (v. 14). As morning approached
the angels urged Lot to flee the city, but Lot lingered so they seized him and
brought him out of the city, commanding them to flee to the mountains and not
look back (v. 15-17). Lot asks instead
if he can flee to a town nearby (v. 20) and they agreed (v. 21). That city would be completely spared of the
judgment coming to the other cities in the valley because of the presence of
Lot. This shows how the very presence of
the righteous can ward off judgment! The
Lord destroyed the valley cities by raining down sulfur and fire from heaven
(v. 24). The destruction came from God
the Son, as He has been given all judgment and is the destroyer of those that
reject salvation. He overthrew the
cities and all the inhabitants, it was utter ruin. Lot and his two daughters escaped, but
Lot’s wife looked back and she became a pillar of salt (v. 26). She disobeyed and was struck dead in her
place, her body becoming like a monument.
The judgment of this area was so severe that this once fruitful valley
remains today as the Dead Sea. Still to
this day it has no living creature in it.
The story
now shifts to Abraham (v. 27) who saw the smoke of the land like the smoke of a
furnace (v. 28). The smoke would have
communicated to Abraham that there were not 10 righteous people in Sodom. Four were lead out of the city by the angels
but only three survived the judgment.
But God, in His goodness, kept Lot safe. Lot managed to escape Sodom but
the events that happen next make it clear that the influence of that culture
had a profound effect on his daughters.
Their desire for offspring was stronger than their desire to be holy so
they got their father drunk so they could get pregnant by him (v. 32-35). Notice how in both cases the Scriptures are
clear that Lot had no knowledge of what was happening (v. 33, 25). The offspring of this sinful behavior became
the Moabites and the Ammonites (v. 37-38), who will both later be trouble for
the people of Israel!
Prayer and Journaling
1. Sodom
and Gomorrah was a wicked city full of sexual immorality, greed and
injustice. Regrettably, our country and
most of the developed world is going the way of Sodom and Gomorrah. Wickedness abounds. Billy Graham’s wife Ruth was quoted as
saying, "If God doesn't soon bring
judgment upon America, He'll have to go back and apologize to Sodom and
Gomorrah!" Yet where are the
intercessors today? Who is praying for
God to save our great nation? Who is
praying for God’s hand of judgment to be restrained and for many to repent and
turn from their wicked ways? Our land
desperately needs prayer! Ask the Lord
to show you what part He is calling you to play praying for our nation. Ask Him to show you something about our
nation that you can pray for today.
2. Thank
the Lord for His love and mercy, how He desires for people to repent and turn
from their wicked ways. God protected
Lot! This shows the power of
intercession. Praise Him for this!
3. Ask
the Lord to show you strategies you can implement in order to protect your
children from the negative impact of our sinful culture. Ask Him to speak to you about their friends,
the media, their school, etc. How can
you model a life submitted to God to your kids?
